


Announced Mate

by bertererei



Series: How the Mighty Fall [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Child Soldiers, Foul Language, Gen, Implied Suicidal Tendency, OOC, Spoiler for the manga, Warrior!Eren AU, discrimination against Eldians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28464549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bertererei/pseuds/bertererei
Summary: "Announced mate - A practice, common in the 19th century, whereby a player would announce a sequence of moves, believed by them to constitute best play by both sides, that led to a forced checkmate for the announcing player in a specified number of moves (for example, "mate in five")." - from the "Glossary of Chess" Wikipedia entryOROne. Theo needs just one reason to justify keeping Eren alive. And isn't that a riot? After spending decades getting rid of Eldians with little to no reason, he now has to actively think of a way to keep one alive.
Relationships: Theo Magath & Eren Yeager
Series: How the Mighty Fall [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2084955
Comments: 8
Kudos: 130





	Announced Mate

**Author's Note:**

> Finishing up my "2020 Bad Mood Go Away" Fes.
> 
> There's a guy at work I based General Calvi of this story on. So yes, I am aware that Calvi is extremely OOC, but let me rant, okay?
> 
> Warning: Warrior!Eren AU. Child soldiers. Discrimination against Eldians. Foul language. OOC. Spoiler for the manga. Implied suicidal tendencies. Description of aftermath of torture.

Theo Magath can tell you exactly what he expected to see when the ship pulled into the dock.

He'd see the three troublemakers that dared to take five whole years on this stupid mission, laughing and joking around. Then they'd spot Theo and immediately freeze.

"O-oh, sir!" they'd squeak.

Then Eren, the boldest and cockiest of the trio, would grin widely and say, "Guess what we brought back for you?"

Marcel would blush and rush to apologize (He would take the big brother role even when his little brother isn't there). And Bertolt would shyly smile like that would be enough to forgive this tardiness.

And Theo would.

After all, the three of them would be returning home with the Founding Titan in tow. Of course, looking past the whole five year situation was the least he could do. Besides, these three are mission-oriented with people they need to come home to. The fact that it took them five years on this mission means that it was a necessary sacrifice that they were forced to make.

Theo expected to see all three of them.

Theo expected to hear them laughing.

Theo expected...

"I'm sorry," says a teenager with long dark-colored hair that Theo does not know. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Pieck has a look like she's having a hard time stomaching this. Annie's expression is stoic, but Theo can feel her anger radiating off of her. Zeke has a gentle but pained expression on his face as he tries to console the apologizing teenager.

Evidence before him tells him the identification of this teenager. But Theo can't quite wrap his mind around it. There's no way. It just can't be.

"Well, where is it?" General Calvi, who must have lost his patience while waiting for Theo to say something, demands. "You left to get the Founding Titan, didn't you?"

The teen falters. Theo hears the audible shudder of breath before the teen lowers his head.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't manage that."

Calvi groans. "Then what good are you? Do you know how much fuel we wasted, trying to get you back from the island over the years? And you couldn't even finish your mission?"

That's hilarious. Theo distinctly recalls being shut down time and time again whenever he requested to go to Paradis Island to pick up the three. The Marleyan government went to Paradis Island exactly three times since the start of the mission five years ago. The first to drop off the three, the second was a month after as their first check-in date, and the last was a few days ago. Calvi doesn't get to pretend this wasted any kind of resources.

Zeke puts one arm around the teenager and keeps his head lowered. Theo has no doubts that it's to hide a glare. To be honest, he doesn't even blame Zeke.

"You Eldians are such a waste of space! Why the hell do we bother wasting resources on them?"

"General, if you would please allow me to take care of my own division?" Theo says.

Calvi scoffs and shakes his head. "It's because you're soft on them that they turn out this useless."

Theo holds his gaze to get across the point to Calvi that he doesn't want to hear any more. After a few seconds, Calvi mutters under his breath and goes to bother the navy members. With that annoyance out of the way...

The teenager does not look anything like the cocky brat of five years ago. That alone tells Theo enough of what he must have seen on that island.

Damn it.

"Eren," Theo calls as softly as he dares.

The teen flinches and bows his head lower. "I'm sorry."

"I expect a full report as soon as we're all situated back in my office. We'll determine then what the rest of the division can hear and what will be kept secret. Before that, though, is there anything you want to tell me?"

It is doubtlessly wishful thinking.

He wants to hear it.

Eren's cocky voice as his lips draw back into a snarl. His green eyes blazing with a surprising amount of pride for an Eldian. After all, why wouldn't he be prideful? He is a Warrior that Theo trusted above all others.

_"It wasn't a mistake. Commander, don't you dare regret choosing me."_

The teen stills. Does he know what Theo wants to hear? He has to. If it's really Eren, he would know that. If it's really Eren, he would-

Slowly, the teen shakes his head no.

Theo breaths out slowly.

"Dismissed."

He wonders how much of his disappointment seeped into that single word.

* * *

Theo picked four Warrior Candidates during the physical exams.

Marcel Galliard was an easy pick. He is physically fit with a good head on his shoulders. His sense of judgement must be good as well to be able to get across the muddy field with those heavy packs and rifle the fastest. Why wouldn't anyone sensible pick him?

Bertolt Hoover's sharpshooting was rather impressive. Sure, as an Eldian holding a rifle for the first time, there's only so much he can do. But the fact that he was able to hit majority near the center despite that assured Theo that he won't regret this.

Annie Leonhart was also an easy pick. Her hand-to-hand martial arts was impeccably clean and precise. The way she so easily threw down guys bigger than her would doubtlessly make her a powerful weapon.

The fourth pick, however, had neither talent nor smarts. Theo only picked Eren Jaeger because he was Zeke's little brother.

But now that the easy part of picking out raw talent (and Zeke's brother) is over, Theo is forced to face the worst possible thing any human is forced to do:

Read the horrible scribbles of five to seven year olds.

Theo did, of course, make the argument that the final part of the Warrior Candidacy Exam should be a verbal one because he valued his own sanity. But the Public Security Authorities officers denied him with the excuse that Eldians should not be allowed for that long of a time in the Marleyan side of Liberio, even for this test.

And thus Theo found himself sitting at his office on Friday evening, trying to decipher what these damned kids wanted to say.

He organized everything, too. In this pile, he puts all the "Possible" Candidates. The hard "No" goes into this pile. And currently, the pile for "Accepted" is nonexistent, but that's okay. He only started three hours ago, and there's enough exams to... quite possibly last him three days.

And that's when the headache by the name of General Calvi walks into his office. Koslow dares to give a small nod as if that's enough of an apology for releasing this menace of a man in Theo's office and runs.

"You're still not done?" Calvi complains as Koslow closes the door. "How is it that you're always working this hard but never show any results?"

"It must be because I'm talentless," Theo grumbles.

Calvi isn't even listening. He picks up an exam from Theo's "possible" pile and snorts.

"What an idiot. He can't even spell 'dedication' correctly! Haha!"

Theo is rather shocked that Calvi knows how to spell that he misses the timing to defend his choice in Porco Galliard. By that, he really means Porco is related to Marcel, and family relations is important in titan inheritance and all that. Besides, if Theo grabs Porco now to train him, then that's one less exam Theo has to read in the future.

Without waiting for a reply, Calvi throws the exam carelessly down and picks up another one.

"Ugh. 'Loyalty' this and 'loyalty' that. Like an Eldian would know the meaning of that word!"

Yeah, that is pretty much Theo's own feelings about Reiner Braun's exam. But that is why Theo put that exam in the "No" pile. Those types of people who spew those kinds of words always tear apart any group they are in. And Theo is trying to build a division that would be able to do achieve the ultimate goal: Claim the Founding Titan.

Calvi tosses the exam just as carelessly as the first one and picks up another. He clicks his tongue and sighs in disappointment.

"Ah yes, a girl with daddy issues. Can you get any more cliched?"

Just like how cliched it is for the General of the biggest military in the world to be an idiot? Theo knows better than to say that out loud, though. But he likes to entertain the idea of saying it. Calvi would doubtlessly turn purple with rage.

Heh.

Well, no matter what Calvi says, Pieck Finger is detail-oriented with what seems to be a near perfect memory. That'll definitely be handy for spying. And if she has an obvious weakness to exploit like her dad, then that is to their advantage. How else will Theo keep the rest of the division in line if not with a mole that is this easy to use?

"Well, how long is it going to take you to finish? I want to get a drink before all the bars close."

Theo does what is natural and motions at all the exams. "This should keep me for at least three days."

What he means is Calvi should give up and find someone else to go to the bar with. Or, more preferably, Calvi should go home and drink alone. Without bothering anyone. You know, like what the rest of the Marleyan command do. Not because they have no one to drink with, but because that's how late they get off from their duties, because unlike Calvi, they all actually work (Okay, maybe not _all_ of them).

"How many kids were you planning on picking from this pile?" Calvi asks, appalled.

"Perhaps three? Four, if someone really impresses me."

Calvi nods seriously. He picks up the two other exams that he has thrown so carelessly down before. Then he pushes the rest of the exams down to the ground.

Theo has a bad feeling about this.

Taking out his flask, Calvi pours it all over the exams on the ground. Then he lights his lighter and drops it. Within seconds, the exams catch on fire. Ah, of course. Calvi's flask is filled with alcohol. Why the hell does he need to go to the bar then? He clearly doesn't need any more.

"Oh, would you look at that? Three candidates, just like you wanted. Now we can go to the bar. You're welcome."

Theo opens his mouth and then wordlessly closes it.

What's he going to say? The exams are already burning. If he decides to hold the written part of the exam again, the Public Security Authorities will come for his throat. He can get mad at Calvi. But what if Calvi sets the three remaining exams on fire as well?

There is nothing that Theo can do but drop his head in his hands.

*

"You're drinking quite a lot," Calvi says, clicking his tongue. "Don't think I'm paying for you."

Yeah, Theo has no doubts that he'll end up shouldering Calvi's bills as well.

He sighs heavily and asks for another bottle.

*

"Ah!" Zeke exclaims while looking outside the window where the children are playing during the thirty minutes break they are allowed for lunch.

"Is there an issue?" Theo asks.

With a blush for being so unprofessional, Zeke quickly apologizes. Then he adds, "I didn't think Eren would have already made a friend."

Theo glances outside. Annie and Eren seem to be arguing next to a tree, quite possibly trying to decide how to climb it. And now that he thinks about it, didn't Eren use similar martial arts techniques as Annie's during the exam? Theo assumed these two knew each other before, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

"Eren isn't trained in martial arts?" Theo asks in disbelief.

Zeke gives a sheepish smile that hints of pride. "He never learned."

And he was able to copy a martial arts move without any prior training? Sure, it was sloppy, but even those who have been trained can't copy to that level after watching a move just once.

Theo wonders if there's more to Eren than he first thought.

*

Couple weeks later, the Galliard brothers are by Eren's side.

Well, saying it like that makes it sound like they're friends. No, no. It's more of...

"You're only part of this division because of your 'Zee!'" Porco growls.

Marcel heaves a long sigh. "Porco, let it go."

Theo stops himself from turning the corner when he hears their voices. As long as he doesn't see it, he can walk away and pretend. He hears the sound of something being hit. No doubt, Eren threw a punch. Theo makes a mental note about his hot-headedness. That kind of fist-first reaction will be detrimental to tactics that require sensitive touches.

"That punch that brought you down was not from Zee. It was from me."

What blatant pride. Theo feels nothing but disgust. What a shame. The Jaeger family must have slacked in their discipline in regards to their youngest. Unlike Zeke who is a model Warrior Candidate, Eren is clearly going to be trouble.

*

To be fair, Theo isn't sure which one of the two little brothers are more of a headache: Porco or Eren.

They are both headstrong and clash in the worst possible manners. It seems like they always have some kind of a beef against the other for the stupidest of all reasons. If their older brothers do not rush to stop them, Theo would have dropped both of them and told them to return once they've matured.

And just when his own patience with the two is about to hit its end at the one month mark, the two of them arrive on an uneasy truce.

The reason, Theo later finds out, is Annie Leonhart.

Since neither of them can defeat her in hand-to-hand, they started to team up together against her. Annie still defeats both of them without breaking a sweat and then smirks down at them. But that has somehow united the two loudmouths on this: Annie must be brought down.

Perhaps because of that, the four's dynamic begin to change. Porco doesn't lag behind as much, now that his focus isn't on picking on Eren. Marcel stops worrying about Porco every few seconds, allowing his time to be freed up enough to focus on Theo's orders. Annie feels less cold and more approachable. Eren seems angry about the whole thing, but he doesn't complain.

This looks like a good enough group. Their teamwork still needs work, but they're working things out.

Theo is satisfied with that, when Eren does the unthinkable.

He coaxes Bertolt out of his shell.

It isn't a complete shift, mind. But Theo spots Eren on multiple occasions coaching Bertolt on looking people in the eyes when speaking and the importance of talking at a conversation level and not whispering. It's all things that Theo figured he'd have to beat into Bertolt, so he's rather satisfied that Eren took care of it for him.

Reiner and Pieck have a tougher time fitting with the others, though. With Pieck, Theo suspects Zeke is actively pushing her away from his little brother, which translates into her being unable to fit in with the rest of the group. Looks like Zeke already figured out the reason why Theo chose her. Tch.

But Reiner?

For the most part, it doesn't look like the group goes out of their way to exclude him. Then it's probably Reiner's attitude and beliefs. His written exam talked glowingly about how much he respected and believed in the Marleyan ideology. It probably rubs the group the wrong way.

Whatever the case, they don't bring their problem with one another to missions or in front of Theo. Theo decides this is acceptable to let it be.

*

Eren's scores begin to improve noticeably, in both physical and scholarly settings. Theo should note that this isn't something like Eren was hiding his abilities at first. The improvements are over a long period of time in a steady incline. This kid worked for this. With his eyes set on a goal that no one else is privy to, he keeps improving as if he has no limits.

His ability during missions isn't bad either.

Sure, he's no Marcel, but he has sound judgement and good instincts.

Sure, he's no Bertolt, but his shooting is getting much better.

Sure, he's no Annie, but how often are the Warrior Candidates doing hand-to-hand combat anyways?

Sure, he's no Pieck, but he can recite back a layout of any enemy base after a quick look.

Sure, he's no Zeke, but his plans are starting to look more fleshed out.

Theo understands that he has on his hands a weapon that can be shaped any way he needs. Not a weapon that was given to him like that. But one he can make. Given the variety of weapons he already has, what should he turn Eren into? What weapon will be the most useful to him?

He has a tactician in the form of Zeke who knows exactly how to use the landscape and weapons given to him for minimal loss while still achieving victory.

He has a jack-of-all-trades in the form of Marcel who is able to determine on the fly what is needed from him in a given situation without explicit orders.

He has a sniper in the form of Bertolt who is able to maintain his accuracy even at a ridiculously far distance.

He has a hand-to-hand specialist in the form of Annie who is able to throw grown adults around like dolls.

He has a mole in the form of Pieck who watches the Warrior Division members carefully for any sign of faltering.

And after deliberating over a period of six months, he finally decides what kind of a weapon he wants Eren to be.

"With the Public Security Authorities, sir?" Eren asks for clarification.

"That's right. They're going to teach you how to extract information."

Theo turns Eren into a intelligence gatherer.

*

"Commander," the Armored Titan holder says, "please excuse me for my brazen words, but I must make my thoughts known to you. The one who should inherit the Armored Titan is Eren Jaeger."

It's rare as it is for one of the Warriors to approach Theo with a request. But for one to recommend their inheritor as well? Theo is caught off-guard enough to entertain the request.

"And why do you say that?"

The Armored Titan holder straightens. "It's his eyes. No matter how badly he's been defeated in a spar or how terrible his assessment goes, his eyes are always bright. I've never seen those eyes look defeated. With a resolve like that, Eren will be the strongest Armored Titan Marley has ever seen."

Theo is by no means convinced by such pretty words.

Of course not.

He picked Eren to inherit after Zeke. Why would he change his mind just because an Eldian said something?

*

"I thought you wanted Eren to inherit after Zeke," Koslow remarks when he sees Theo's report.

"As it is, Reiner can't keep up with Eren," is the best answer Theo can give.

He, by the way, did not come to this decision because of the Armored Titan's plea.

It's because Eren is the most useful as a scout. Theo lets Eren go into the enemy territory for three days to a week. When he returns, it's with the layout of the land, location of their enemy hideouts, and any other information that he thought would be useful for Zeke to form a plan. His information very rarely has holes, and if they do, it's for a good reason that Theo can't fault him for.

Theo isn't stupid.

That kind of scouting and intel-gathering requires extreme luck and charm. If done incorrectly, Eren will be killed.

In order to have his scout around in an almost invulnerable manner for the next 13 years, Theo makes the decision to give Eren the Armored.

It isn't because of the Armored Titan's plea.

Seeing Eren return from his scouting trips time and time again with a confident grin on his face makes Theo believe it's the correct choice.

*

"Is that a chess board?"

Theo keeps a chess board in his office. He has since he was first promoted to a Commander. And no, it's not because he thinks it makes him look smart, Calvi. He likes it because it's something to do during down time.

Zeke learned how to play a few years back and will keep Theo company if asked. But his plays are sadistic. With that meek smile on his face, he would "accidentally" take all of Theo's pieces. Then he would dare to look shocked at his victory as if he didn't manipulate the flow of the game from the beginning.

It makes for some rather humbling matches, sure. But it can get pretty draining, so Theo always limits how often he plays against Zeke. The problem, of course, is that no one else plays. So if he's itching to play, he has to rely on Zeke.

"There's always been a chess board there," Theo informs Calvi.

"Nonsense! I have a great sense of observation, and you never had one before," Calvi insists.

Theo wisely decides that he doesn't want to argue with an idiot. "I'm working. Come back later."

"Does anyone know how to play?" Calvi asks, ignoring him. "Oh, that Zeke guy's supposed to be smart! I'll play against him since you're so busy!"

Theo doesn't have to see it unfold to know exactly how that will turn out. Zeke will play as he normally does because why would anyone think that the General of the Marleyan military is a sore loser who throws tantrums when he loses? Calvi will doubtlessly lash out, quite possibly aiming for Zeke's family, which means that Eren will get caught up in this. And the last thing Theo needs is to have two disgruntled weapons on his hands.

"He's no good," Theo says in hopes of discouraging this.

But Calvi, this asshole, is clearly looking for an easy prey. He grins widely and declares, "That's perfect."

Shit. He didn't think this through. Someone else. He needs someone else to distract Calvi with-

A knock on the door interrupts the two of them. When prompted to enter, Eren peers in.

"Excuse me, sir. I'm finished with today's curriculum with the Public Security Authorities. May I be dismissed for the day?"

Perfect.

"Eren, entertain the General," Theo orders.

Calvi raises a brow in question, but he doesn't question it. Instead, he motions for Eren to sit across from him.

"I want a chess partner," Calvi says, his eyes watching Eren for any sign of weakness.

Eren glances at Theo for a split second before putting on a sheepish smile for Calvi. "Would I be okay? I have never played it before."

Calvi beams at the admission, giving away his true intentions. Theo has no doubts that Eren figured out what's going on from that.

"No time like the present to learn. Sit down! Since I'm generous, I'll let you start."

The bastard of a General doesn't bother teaching Eren the basics. Instead, he clicks his tongue when Eren tries to make an illegal move. Theo feels exasperated watching. He can't imagine how frustrated Eren must be to be tossed into this game blind. But that is still infinitely better than having both Zeke and Eren's ire directed at the government.

"Jeesh, you took forever making a move!" Calvi complains with a scowl. "This is why you Eldians are no good!"

Eren gives a sheepish smile, surprising Theo. "But sir, of course I won't be able to come anywhere close to you! You are our amazing General!"

Theo heard from the reports the Public Security Authorities (and from witnessing the results of successful missions) that Eren is good at getting information. But he never really put together how he got that info.

Because with that simple phrase, Calvi beams and boasts of himself without care of the dignity a General should show. And yes, Theo is the one who told Eren to entertain Calvi, but he somehow didn't think he'd be watching something like this.

The chess match itself is so uninteresting that Theo don't recall it. But Theo keeps watch until the end because of Eren.

At the end of it all, Eren congratulates Calvi brightly, heaping high praises of how Calvi must be a genius and how Marley could never fail with his leadership. Calvi, that idiot, never realizes that he has been played with and laughs, clearly in a bright mood.

"You're right, Magath! Eren was definitely the correct choice for the Armored! He has great eyes! Hahahaha!"

*

When Theo plays a match against Eren a few days later after teaching Eren how to play, the praises aren't there.

"But Commander," Eren remarks when Theo points that out. "You don't like empty praises."

Theo realizes with a start that he isn't exempt from Eren's intelligence collecting. How dangerous, he thinks as his lips twitch into a semblance of a smile.

Whether Eren turns on him or not will depend on how Theo treats him. That cocky grin on Eren's face lets Theo know that Eren knew exactly what conclusion Theo would draw from this. Theo is playing in this child's hands.

To think Theo will find such a gem among the Eldians...

The Warrior Candidates of this generation might be able to do it.

That thought is the beginning of Theo's biggest mistake.

*

He ends up playing chess with Eren quite often after that. Unlike Zeke whose play style makes it frustrating to play against, Eren plays so earnestly that it's rather pleasant to watch him. When Eren thinks he made an especially clever move, he giggles and looks to Theo expectantly. When Eren realizes a second late that his move was a bad one, he lets out a low hiss and pouts at the board. He always looks like he's having a blast when playing, Theo almost considers letting Eren win one of their matches, just to see how overjoyed he'd be.

Almost, being the key word. He isn't stupid to think that Eren won't call him out for going easy on him.

The unfortunate problem is that it isn't just Theo who seems to have acquired a taste for playing chess with Eren.

Calvi, looking for a quick ego boost, comes to find Eren from time to time with a wide grin on his face. How he never realizes that Eren is just talking him up during those games, Theo doesn't know. Then again, seeing that Calvi is an idiot who likes being praised, he supposes this makes sense.

One such day, Calvi sets up the board and then looks to Eren with a wide smirk.

"If you can defeat me today, Eren, I'll let you in on a secret."

What the hell is this man saying to an Eldian? Theo doesn't know what kind of expression he has on his face, but Eren notes it before he turns to Calvi with wide eyes.

"That's impossible, sir! How could I ever even dream of defeating you? Please at least give me a handicap!"

Calvi preens under the cleverly worded praise, chuckling to himself like he accomplished something. Theo resists the urge to throw something at his head.

"That's right! That's right! Hahaha! I am asking way too much from an Eldian, aren't I? Then what about this? If you manage to capture my rook today, I'll tell you!"

... He just wants to brag about this "secret," doesn't he?

Theo figures it can't be any military secret since no one in their right mind would trust Calvi with something like that. Given that, the things that Calvi might tell Eren won't be anything devastating. And if it turns out that Calvi is actually insane and tells an Eldian of an important secret, Theo can silence Eren by reminding him of what might happen to his family. Or perhaps a carrot might be a better incentive for Eren than a stick? Eren has been doing well recently. It won't be too bad to offer something like that.

Either way, Theo can afford to play by ear for once.

The game opens without any issue that Theo can see. He figures that Eren will make quick work of this to find out more about this secret. He knows Calvi's level and it is no where near Eren's. But Eren surprises him yet again.

"Pfft! You call that a move?" Calvi asks, shaking his head.

Eren blushes, but puts his piece down strongly. "I-it isn't over yet, sir! I haven't given up!"

Even though Theo is certain that Eren is pretending to be this weak in chess, he can't help but to watch the board worriedly. Eren is making beginner's mistakes here and there. He keeps biting his lips and frowning at the board, brows furrowed as if he can't quite figure this out. It is acting, right? The more Theo watches, the less convinced he becomes. Perhaps Eren is nervous playing against Calvi that he can't help but to mess up like this? Because these are mistakes that Eren will never make against Theo.

"A-ah!" Eren exclaims. He grins excitedly but then seems to realize that he gave himself away. He tries to school his expression, but he lets a small giggle slip through.

Theo glances at the board and sees what Eren did. There is a direct attack Eren can make against Calvi's rook. And sure, Eren gets this excited when he sees a potential move to use against Theo, but this one is laying it quite thick. Typically, Eren is more devious about his plans than putting it out in the open like this.

So it has to be acting.

Calvi squints at the board. For a second, it looks as if he might move to protect the rook, but then he must have decided that he wants to share the secret after all. He allows Eren to take the piece.

"I-I did it! Sir, I did it!" Eren celebrates.

"Of course you did! Even an Eldian like you can do this much when I'm the one who backed you!" Calvi declares.

He doesn't seem to realize that he has been played the entire time. Theo decides not to burst that bubble. Their General is an idiot who can't even win against a child in a chess match.

"So what's this secret?" Theo asks to change the topic.

Calvi turns to grin at Theo. "The Warrior Division will be given permission to retrieve the Founding Titan from Paradis Island."

"'Will be,'" Theo echoes. "That means it hasn't been agreed upon yet."

"It will. I sat through enough meetings to get them to agree. I expect to have the Founding Titan in our arsenal before the year is out."

*

Because that is how Calvi phrased it, Theo thought that the Warrior Division will be receiving backing from the rest of the military for this mission.

He didn't realize the condition is only a few of the Warriors will be sent.

"We can't send too many of them. What if we get attacked while those monsters are gone?"

"At least give us soldiers!" Theo argues. "You can't seriously expect that they'll be able to face against who knows how many pure titans on their own? After having spent that much resources to raise them, you really want to throw away these Warriors?"

"What are you so scared of, Magath? We put in that much resources so that they can do this. Didn't you say yourself that this batch of Warriors are the best we've been able to produce?"

No matter what points he tries to bring up, the other division leaders are firm on their belief. They want to reap all the benefits while standing back and watching someone else do all the work.

But that is exactly what Marleyan core beliefs and ideology stands on.

The Eldians go to war for them and win them territory. Sure, it is Marleyans that run the divisions at the top. But how many of them have ever been on the battlefield, risking their lives? How many of them actually come up with the plans that lead to victory?

Of course, to them this is only obvious.

Marleyan pride? Marleyan might?

Those are all hollow words, just like the statue of Helos.

*

"Well, obviously you can't send Eren. Who would I play chess with?" Calvi says.

What the hell does this man think the Warriors are?

But in the same breath, this isn't the first time Theo received a request to leave Eren in Liberio. Zeke made one as well (Of course, he did). But the one that made Theo actually hesitate is the request he received from the Public Security Authorities officers who trained Eren.

"Was he not trained for this type of missions?" Theo reminded them.

"Well... short answer, yes. We trained him so that he'd be a great fit for any kind of missions. But that's just the thing, Magath. Our training deals with humans. Not titans. If you send that child to that island, he will die."

"He's the Armored Titan," Theo brought up.

They agreed. Then they added, "That means he'll be the first to get attacked. Magath, you're not stupid. You know how that child is."

The only person who doesn't get the memo, as it turns out, is Eren.

"Commander, do you think the weather on that island would be similar to Liberio?"

Theo glances at Eren. The child doesn't even glance in his direction as he toys with the knight piece in his hand before finally putting it down to attack Theo's pawn.

"I imagine it would be since it's so close to us. But why does that matter to you?"

"I was wondering what kind of clothes I should pack," comes the reasonable answer.

"You're not going."

Eren stills. "But, sir, have I not demonstrated my abilities as a scout? I do not understand why I wouldn't be sent. On top of that, the Armored Titan would be the perfect defense against the pure titans on that island. Of everyone, I should be the top pick for this mission."

"Orders from the top," Theo says vaguely as he moves his bishop to attack the knight.

Green eyes drop down to the chess board. Then after a beat of a pause, Eren dares to say...

"I can prove to you in the next five moves that I am the best fit."

Theo never considered it before that moment. That Eren is playing with Theo just as he plays with Calvi. That he has been lulled into the same sense of comfort, believing that he would always be victorious over an Eldian. But joke is on him. Of course, Eren can play better than Theo or Calvi could ever dream of. Zeke would have made sure that his little brother knew every trick in the book and out of it.

"Mate in four," Eren announces.

The usual cheeky grin isn't there. The typical signs of stifled excitement that Eren has when he has a clever plan prepared isn't there.

"Mate in three."

It is a calm calculation. A side to Eren that Theo has never seen.

"Mate in two."

No. It isn't that, is it? It's that Eren went out of his way to never let Theo see until now.

"Mate in one."

So this is the true face of the weapon that Theo worked so hard to shape.

"Checkmate, Commander," Eren says with a sweet smile.

"Alright." Theo feels the tips of his lips twitch into a grin. "I'll make the case for you."

*

No one questions his decision on the three Warriors that he chose for this mission. He does receive a few grumbles, but nothing blocks him.

Eren beams when he hears the news, completely oblivious to how Zeke stiffens. Both Marcel and Bertolt stand with pride at having been chosen.

This is the correct thing to do, isn't it? He did the right thing?

Theo doesn't understand why he feels so uneasy.

*

He goes to the island with them to drop them off.

"We'll be here in one month to pick you up."

Theo feels that that is too little of a time for these three to be able to claim the Founding Titan. But that is what the navy decided. And until the Warrior Division gets a warship of their own, they have no choice but to bow to the navy's whims.

The three Warriors look so small carrying their packs. Is this really the correct choice to make? Should he really be leaving this to three children?

"Commander," Eren calls to him with his usual cheeky grin. "You won't regret this!"

"We'll see you in a month," Marcel says

Bertolt gave a shy nod.

Theo watches them for as long as the navy allows before returning back to Liberio.

* * *

Eren hands over a notebook filled with sketches and explanations of Paradis Island, the culture, the military structure, and everything else that he could think of. As expected of an intelligence-gatherer. Even minor detail seems to be noted in these. This much, Theo is glad to see hasn't changed.

While Theo flips through these, Eren gives his verbal report.

The three of them arrived at location without issue. Bertolt assumed the Colossal Titan form and destroyed the gate for them to sneak in. They got to know about the layout of the place and the people within the walls before they began their search in earnest.

"Since the innermost wall is where the king and the richest merchants resides, we made the assumption that that must be where the Founding Titan would be. But due to our attack, the way into Sheena was blocked. We had no choice but to wait for a chance by blending in with other refugees. I managed to secure a way in through the sewers, so I went in to see what I can find."

Eren pauses for a second, a haunted look on his face. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before continuing.

"After repeated visits, I didn't realize I earned the attention of a special Military Police division. I learned later that the leader, Kenny the Ripper, used to be a mass murderer before working for the king. So it's possible that it wasn't something I did that tipped him off. Rather, he was bored and thought it would be funny to deal with what he believed was an orphan."

Another hesitation. Whatever it is that happened next is most likely why the mission stretched on for so long.

"They set up a trap for me. For about two weeks, they... pried for information."

Torture, huh? On a kid, no less. How barbaric. But Eren should be used to something like that.

"Believing me to be dead, they dumped my body in the river. It took me some time to make my way back to Marcel and Bertolt. As you can imagine, the one month mark was way past at that point."

No doubt neither Marcel nor Bertolt wanted to leave in those uncertain terms, especially not if they were waiting on Eren to return with information. As Theo feared, a month was much too short of a time.

"But thanks to my time with the Military Police, I was able to find more information. The king on the throne was a fake. About three years before we arrived, there was an attack on the true royal family that wiped them out. But as it happened, the illegitimate heir survived because she had been sent away to live on a farm due to politics. We figured she was most likely the holder of the Founding Titan and began our search for her."

When Eren pauses this time, it's to take the written report from Theo to flip through the pages. He stops at a page and returns it to Theo, pointing at the drawing of a tiny girl of perhaps five years of age. The writing by the drawing depicts her of having blonde hair and blue eyes and short stature. If that's all these kids had to go off on, no wonder they struggled for so long.

"That was the best description I could get of her. Needless to say, we struggled to find her. Marcel decided that the next best course of action would be to join their military to use their information system."

Here, Eren flips through the report until he finds another page that explains the three branches of military within the walls. Only the top most cadets are given the choice to join the Military Police. And since it was the Military Police that Eren managed to get information from in the first place, the three of them most likely aimed for that.

"Because of our attack, the military there lowered the age to enlist. But we still had to wait a year because Marcel was too honest when he faked our documents. Then it was three long years of training... I've documented all of that in the report, sir. When it was time to choose our divisions, Marcel told me and Bertolt to go for the Survey Corps and start mapping out our route back home. He said he will handle stealing the Founding, and then the three of us will make our way back home. That's when everything went wrong."

Wait. Marcel decided to steal the Founding by himself? That sounds suspect. The best person for that kind of extraction of information should be Eren. But if Marcel made that choice, then the Military Police situation must have impacted Eren a lot more than he is letting on.

All of the members of the Warrior Division have been through torture training to ensure they won't give away information even if they were to be taken (this fear is mainly aimed at the Warrior Candidates). Since the Warriors can heal any kind of damage, they receive the most intensive training from the Public Security Authorities. And, of course, because Eren received extra training for intelligence gathering, he should be more than capable of handling this situation.

But for Eren to have been so spooked that Marcel sent him away?

Theo decides to hold that question until Eren finishes his report. It's also possible that Eren included more information in the written report, too. No need to interrupt yet.

"At the time, the core of the main Survey Corps forces were out to try and reclaim the lands that was lost when we first arrived. It was supposed to be a two week long mission. Near the end of that, Marcel dropped his communication with us. I poked around a bit and found that he disappeared. So Bertolt and I broke another wall and let in pure titans as a distraction while we searched for him. We timed it with the return of the Survey Corps, so I could make my demands. I had Bertolt hide to be my back up in case the talks went south."

"You what?" Theo can't help but to interrupt.

"I made myself known as the Armored Titan and made a deal with the leader of the Survey Corps that just returned. Erwin Smith."

Eren flips the pages and points to a drawing of a man. The descriptions next to him says that he is a charmer with terrifying plans. It then lists out some of his accomplishments and strategies that the man came up with to face against pure titans. Theo personally doesn't find it all that impressive, but it must be if Eren thought to include them.

That misses the point of Theo's outrage. But he figures he'll let it go to hear the rest of the report first.

"With his help and the cooperation of the Survey Corps, we located Marcel."

The pause this time is most definitely because Eren can't quite form the words.

"We as Warriors can heal but... There were multiple jars of organs and body parts. From the sheer amount of the same organs, I imagine they've been... harvesting almost as soon as it grew back. He... I think he gave up healing himself in hopes of making it stop."

Theo closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He opens his eyes and motions for Eren to continue.

"Erwin said he'd help. That the Survey Corps had our backs. And with their help, we were able to find 'Historia Reiss,' the illegitimate daughter of the royal family. But unfortunately, she did not have the Founding Titan."

Ah, of course. Damned Eldians, always making it more complicated than it needed to be.

"B-but we did find her. T-the holder of the F-Founding Titan. Florian Reiss. When the royal family was attacked three years prior, it was by a titan shifter who came from outside the walls. This shifter warned them for years that Marley will be attacking them. And when it became clear that no one believed him, the shifter attacked the royal family as a last resort. Florian survived because her father injected her with the titan serum so she could eat the previous Founding Titan. The attacker ran off and hasn't been seen from since. In that sense, three people survived that attack. The attacker, Florian, and her father, Rod."

From there, the report becomes a predictable mess. The Military Police are tasked with protecting the royal family. The mass murderer, Kenny, clashed his swords against them. Seeing the mess, Erwin switched sides to stand with the royal family and sold Eren out. Bertolt helped Eren to escape. They ran into the Warriors that were sent to pick them up. Believing things would be different this time, they fought to grab the Founding Titan once more and were humiliated by Erwin's strategy and the combined forces of Kenny and his nephew, Levi Ackerman. In this last clash, they lost Bertolt.

Theo rubs his temples.

"I... I am ready to assume full responsibility for the failure of this mission," Eren concludes.

"That'll be determined once I've looked through your reports more thoroughly," Theo says.

*

This wasn't supposed to happen.

Theo rests his head in his hands, trying to make this headache go away. He dismissed Eren for the day after hearing the rest of the Warriors' reports of what happened. Just in case, he made sure to receive their reports separately to make sure that all of their words match. There were slight variations in terms of details, which he expected, but overall, the reports were the same.

They were all the same story of failure.

"So how does it look?" Calvi asks as he invades Theo's office.

Koslow gives a small nod to Theo as if that's enough to excuse this. Then he closes the door, clearly leaving Calvi as Theo's problem.

Ugh.

"Horrible. We lost two of our Warriors with nothing to show for it."

And to be honest, with how Eren has been acting, Theo is fearing the worst about his intelligence gatherer.

Calvi clicks his tongue. "Guess that's that. Who's your next pick for the Jaw, then?"

The...?

"What do you mean?" Theo asks. Because surely, the General of the military recognizes his weapons, doesn't he?

"He messed up that badly. Of course, you're going to pass on his titan to the next Warrior Candidate. Can't trust the Grices, but that Galliard kid doesn't do too bad of a job... Ah, this is such a pain! If only Eren was the one who returned! He would've brought the Founding back no problem!"

It turns out no, Theo had too high of a hope. Who the fuck put this guy in charge again?

"The one who returned is Eren, the Armored Titan."

There's a stunned pause. Then Calvi turns to Theo with his eyebrows flying to his hairline. "Wait a sick minute! That's Eren?!"

Theo nods.

"Then what are we waiting for? I want a chess match!"

And Theo wants to strangle this man. But since he can't get what he wants, he doesn't see why Calvi should.

"Fine. Looks like I have no choice but to help you," Calvi says, not realizing the sheer amount of fear that single phrase gives Theo.

"This is my division. I can handle it," Theo argues.

Calvi sneers. "We let you run your division, and look at the result they brought back. I will determine whether or not Eren will keep the Armored."

*

Eren stares at the chess board before him in dismay.

"I-I apologize. I haven't played in such a long time."

Calvi waves his hand in the air with a jolly laugh. "Don't worry about it! Just do as you usually do!"

Eren looks even more panicked by those words. He stares at the pieces as if silently begging them to help him out. Jeesh, he's gotten even better at acting, hasn't he? Theo almost fell for it. But he's seen Eren work his magic like this before, even if it was five years ago.

He has no doubts that Eren will dazzle Calvi, chess match or not.

"Alright. I'll let you start," Calvi says.

With a hesitant nod, Eren meekly moves a pawn forward.

The game, if it can be called that, is a mess. Eren struggles to remember how the pieces move. Instead of helping, Calvi sighs and scoffs at every mistake. It looks like Eren is shrinking in on himself after every turn. And with every turn, Calvi becomes more and more frustrated.

"Is this the best that you can do?" Calvi demands when he can't take it anymore.

Eren doesn't answer, just keeps his head lowered in the perfect picture of defeat.

Calvi snarls in disgust. "Fine. I've decided. You will pass on your titan in five days."

The game ends there.

*

Theo sits down across from Eren, who hasn't moved since Calvi stormed out. Eren makes no move to acknowledge him. Theo glances at the mess that is the chess board. There's no way to recover from that. Did five years of not playing really make Eren this rusty?

"He doesn't care about how well you can play. You know that, don't you?" Theo asks quietly.

Slowly, Eren lifts his head. His green eyes lack the fire that used to burn so brightly. He picks up a rook and stares at the board.

"He wanted to be complimented and praised. 'Just do as you normally do.'"

Theo frowns. "If you knew that, then-"

Eren puts down the rook. And hah. Look at this damned kid. As Theo suspected, he was acting the entire time. Clavi's king has nowhere to run with the rook threatening it like this. It's a checkmate. While making it look like he had thrown the game, he waited for this opening, didn't he?

"But if I do this, he'll put me to death. I'll be able to rest."

"You don't think I'll oppose it?" Theo asks.

Green eyes look curiously at Theo. "But sir, I'm an Eldian. Since when did you need a reason to kill one?"

Theo can't believe he's forgotten just how good this kid is at controlling the flow of the people around him. Just like five years ago, he's dancing in this kid's palm again.

"Did you guys really mess up? Or did you lie in the reports?" Theo can't help but to ask.

Eren lowers his head and stares at the pieces on the board. "I misread Commander Erwin and his goals. I couldn't predict how Kenny fit into the bigger picture until it was too late and Marcel was... This mission failed due to my inability to get reliable information."

"Regardless, I have spent quite a lot of resources into raising you. I have no plans on granting you rest. You regret your failure? Then take responsibility by spending the rest of your term serving Marley loyally," Theo says.

"Sir, are you allowed to go against General Calvi's words?" Eren asks.

Theo snorts. Go against Calvi's words? Hah! Like hell Calvi would even remember this by tomorrow!

"Don't worry about him."

*

Turns out, Calvi can get things done if he puts his mind to it.

Theo doesn't know what he's more pissed off about: the fact that Calvi always was able to do something but chose to be a useless sag of waste of space, or that the one time Theo assumed Calvi would be too lazy to do something is the time that Calvi decides to make a move.

The Warrior Division is abuzz with rumors and excitement. Theo doesn't know who spread the rumors (Calvi, most likely. He has the loosest lips), but every single person seems to echo those damning words.

"Eren has four days left."

Four.

Calvi's counting yesterday as day one.

This goddamned bastard thinks he can do whatever he wants with the Warrior Division that he's been neglecting all this time?

Zeke looks livid but has enough sense to not storm Theo. But the accusing eyes set on Theo's every movement is starting to annoy him. As long as Theo doesn't give him the room, Zeke won't approach him with his scathing words. So Theo ignores it as that.

What he cannot ignore, however, is the Public Security Authorities officers that storm his office.

"We did not spend years honing this tool for you to be thrown away like this! None of the other kids can even dream of coming close to Eren. And if you decide to kill him off like this, then you bet your ass that we won't train anyone else for you."

And look, Theo's doing his best trying to figure out how to reverse Calvi's decision as it is. If they could not waste his time like this, he'd appreciate it.

"I have full intention of letting Eren serve out the rest of his term," Theo growls.

"Alright. How are you going about reversing Calvi's creed?"

"I'm working on it."

The doubts on their faces shame Theo enough.

*

He has three days left and nothing to show for it.

Eren looks serene, like he has finished preparing everything and is ready for the end. But damn it, Theo can't let it end like this.

He's tried calling every person he knows, but the door slams on his face when they realize that he's trying to save an Eldian. What part of this Eldian is a weapon that they've already spent so much to raise do they not understand?

The Public Security Authorities officers are just as bad. Despite making such demands of Theo, they make no move to help him.

"This is your hole that you dug," they claim. "If you can't get yourself out, then you clearly don't deserve the title of Commander."

*

He's down to two days.

Having no other choice, Theo allows Zeke to speak his mind.

"Take us on a mission," Zeke says. "Please allow Eren to prove his worth on the battlefield."

Now there's a thought.

More so than Theo's words, showing that Eren is still a useful tool would get across as proof stronger.

"Can you swear that Eren won't purposefully throw away this chance?" Theo asks.

Zeke nods without hesitation.

Is it okay to believe in this Eldian? But it's not like Theo has the time to deliberate over this.

"I'll find a suitable mission."

*

He's down to a day when he finally receives an audience with Calvi.

Isn't that hilarious of a thought? Calvi used to barge into Theo's office like it's where he belongs. But the minute Theo wants to talk, Calvi is nowhere to found. He should have expected it, though. Calvi is nothing but a headache.

It's odd to think that this man has an office. But it seems that Calvi does sit at his desk from time to time, because that's where they meet to talk. His desk is empty of papers, though. So if Calvi does sit at his desk, it's definitely not to do paperwork.

"The two titans that were lost on that island will now manifest randomly in an Eldian baby. If we do not move to claim every Eldian newborn, we will lose those two powers for good," Theo says without any fanfares.

Calvi seems to not like launching straight into business. He scowls. "Your division's failures are what caused this mess to begin with. Why should I trust you to take care of this?"

"Because I believed I would have five years to determine the Armored's inheritor. Not five days. This will be the fastest way to pick someone."

"The hell's with that? They're all Eldians. Just pick someone," comes the lazy answer.

Theo shakes his head. "We still won't have those two titans. At least this way, our division has a chance to redeem ourselves."

"You're doing this protect Eren from being killed," Calvi says, surprising Theo.

What do you know, Calvi wasn't as much of an idiot as Theo always thought.

"We spent a lot of resources to make him useful. I'm not going to-"

"You're doing this because you're soft on that kid." Then Calvi pauses as if to think for a bit (Theo isn't sure if he believes that this man can use his brain, even if evidence before him says otherwise). "If you do this, would you be able to bring Eren back?"

Theo hates the fact that he knows exactly what Calvi is asking with that. Because he has also been wondering the same thing. Is it possible to get that cocky brat back? He's been in this field for too long to believe so. But because Eren is an Eldian and they have a way of healing...

No.

It's because Theo himself wants to believe that Eren can return.

"He will be back to praising your chess moves in no time," Theo says lightly.

Calvi nods.

"Fine. I give you permission to keep Eren alive. But if he fails during this mission, I don't care what excuse you come up with. He will pass his titan on."

*

"I have overturned the announced mate," Theo tells Eren.

Green eyes widen in shock but otherwise allow no other emotion through.

"You will gather information as you've always done. If you fail, it will be your fellow Warrior Division members that die, just as it has always been."

"But if a Warrior Candidate performs well, they will replace me as the Armored, will they not?" Eren asks.

Theo snorts. "You really think any of them have a chance, competing against you?"

From the blank expression on Eren's face, Theo realizes that this very clever Eldian that he has specifically trained for intelligence gathering struggles with believing in his own skills. What a pain. He had hoped he would never had to put this into words.

"Why do you think I made you the Armored Titan despite opposition? Why do you think I allowed you to be given Marleyan tactics of information gathering from the Public Security Authorities? Why do you think I humor you with chess games?"

Realization flashes in those green eyes.

Took long enough.

Theo makes a fist and places it over Eren's heart.

"I did not make a mistake in choosing you."

Green eyes begin to water. Theo takes a step away to give Eren a semblance of privacy to wipe his eyes.

"S-sir, if you... if you trust me like that, then... then I'll have no choice but to rise to meet it," Eren stammers out. He looks up and grins at Theo.

Just a bit, Theo can see the cocky smirk of the child from five years ago.

"Even if you say you regret it later, I'm not going to let you take that back."

_Fin._

**Author's Note:**

> Theo hears the soft whispers of shocked expletives at the sheer amount of information Eren returns with after three days.
> 
> Heh. That's right. Be impressed. This is the weapon Theo spent years honing. Now that he has his intelligence gatherer back, he feels like he's no longer blind. Those first few missions without Eren was hell.
> 
> There are signs of burns and gunshots on Eren's uniform. But he must have healed all injuries before getting here. He marks the spots of where the enemy is positioned on the map for Zeke, giving detailed information on what kind of weapons and how many are stationed where.
> 
> The other Marleyan commands in the room watch in grudging respect.
> 
> "You got all of this in just three days?" one asks.
> 
> Eren ducks his head. "I-I'm sorry that I couldn't get more."
> 
> Theo misses the cocky smirk Eren would've given five years ago. He probably would've said something like "Now imagine what I got in five years." Of course, something like that would've resulted in Theo trying to put out the fire and returned to bite them in the butt later. But Theo likes to imagine the disgust on the other commands' faces.
> 
> "Can we trust your words?" comes the expected complaint.
> 
> Eren tenses and keeps his eyes glued to the map. He won't defend himself. But that could easily be because his opposition currently are Marleyans. Theo isn't going to lose hope that the cocky child from five years ago is completely gone. That damned island did not rob them of this.
> 
> Theo moves to stand by Eren's side. He places his hand on Eren's head and ruffles his hair. It's not the same now that Eren's hair's so long, but Theo supposes it's better than nothing. Eren peeks at him cautiously.
> 
> "I'll vouch for the information. Now, are we going to win this battle or are we going to sit around and twiddle our thumbs for longer?"


End file.
